Chapter 70 - 69: For the Person You Like, of Course You Give Yourself Away for Free

Chapter 70: Chapter 69: For the Person You Like, of Course You Give Yourself Away for Free

’No way...’

Her eyes darted around in a panic. She pressed her lips together, looking nervous.

’Was it because I held his hand?’

’Or did he figure out that I was peeking at the washing machine yesterday?’

The more the girl thought about it, the more nervous she became.

Her nerves stretched taut without her realizing it. ’It’s all my fault for not being more reserved!’

’If I could do it all over again, I definitely wouldn’t have done that!’

The girl swallowed. A faint, watery sheen veiled her pretty eyes as she bit her lip guiltily and said, "I, I don’t know!"

A smart girl would absolutely never let Xiao Ran know she had a crush on him.

Unfortunately, Xiao Ran was not the least bit satisfied with her answer.

It was far too perfunctory.

He leaned in closer, looking at her suspiciously. "How is that possible? You mean to tell me you’ve grown up without ever liking anyone?"

’Everyone has some romantic experience, more or less.’

’Even an unrequited crush?’

’Don’t know?’

’She clearly just doesn’t want to talk about it!’

Seeing the disbelief on his face, the stubborn girl felt the string in her mind pull even tighter.

Her small hands silently lifted off her book and began twisting together.

She swallowed, preparing to deny it to her dying breath.

The girl kept her head down, not quite daring to look at him. "I haven’t!"

’If I admit it, he might throw me out!’

’I’m not that stupid.’

Seeing her look of embarrassment, Xiao Ran suddenly realized she was probably just too shy to admit she had liked someone before.

’Girls get embarrassed easily, after all.’

But if she didn’t want to say, he couldn’t just keep hounding her about it. That would make him seem pathetic.

Xiao Ran sighed, a hint of disappointment on his face. "Well, forget it. I’ll just try to figure it out myself."

With that, he prepared to get up and return to his workstation.

Seeing that he was about to leave, the girl thought he was angry.

’After all, even I know that answer was a lie.’

She subconsciously reached out her small, fair hand and grabbed Xiao Ran’s wrist with a slight bit of force.

Her large eyes blinked up at him, her moist pupils filled with a pleading look. She was so nervous that her throat tightened, causing her voice to come out a little squeaky. "Brother... d-don’t go."

Xiao Ran couldn’t help but freeze for a moment.

He felt the soft, slightly cool little hand on his wrist.

That look in her eyes, combined with that tone of voice...

In that instant, his heart began to beat uncontrollably faster.

His brain also began to send out signals of pleasure and nervousness.

He really wanted to say, ’Please, my dear sister-in-law, if this keeps up, something is going to happen!’

But she was so damn innocent.

There were some things he just couldn’t say.

If he said them rashly, it might make their relationship awkward.

’What a headache.’

Seeing Xiao Ran staring helplessly at the little hand gripping his wrist,

the girl’s eyelid twitched.

’I’m done for!’

’Why am I getting all handsy again!’

She looked at Xiao Ran apologetically, her tone filled with an inexpressible guilt. "Um, I, I didn’t do it on purpose, I was just anxious..."

’This isn’t the first time, after all. He probably didn’t think much of it, right?’

The girl forced herself to suppress her nervousness and look at him. "Um, uh, y-you, don’t go yet. Let’s talk about this properly."

’His last sentence clearly implied he was researching something.’

She felt she might have misunderstood.

Xiao Ran pressed his lips together and glanced around. Thankfully, the place was already sparse, and no one was looking their way. He finally breathed a sigh of relief. "It’s fine. Sit down first, let’s talk."

’If anyone saw this, they’d think I was bullying her!’

He sat back down in his seat. "It’s nothing. You know how I’m writing a new book? I’m having a hard time grasping the female protagonist’s inner thoughts, so I wanted to ask you."

Hearing this, the girl froze.

’Ohh~’

’You should have said so earlier!’

’You scared me to death!’

She was so scared that her palms had started sweating without her even realizing it; they were all clammy now!

She let out a huge sigh of relief inwardly, and even her tone of voice relaxed.

"Oh, so that’s what you were talking about. I can help with that."

’As long as I don’t have to admit I like him, anything goes!’

Seeing this, Xiao Ran looked at her curiously. "Okay, let me ask you this: if you really liked a guy, would you confess to him?"

???

The girl blinked her moist eyes and began to think seriously.

One hand couldn’t help but prop up her soft, tender cheek, her eyes filled with hesitation.

’A confession, huh... If the person I liked wasn’t him, then I would definitely confess!’

After all, she wasn’t the type to overthink things, and she disliked playing games even more.

’If you like someone, you should just be bold and get together. Why worry about so much?’

But the person she liked just had to be him.

Their relationship forced the normally carefree girl to be cautious.

’To be honest, I’m not asking for much.’

’Just being by his side is enough to make me happy.’

The girl looked him in the eye and said seriously, word by word, "I think... I probably would confess!"

Xiao Ran was taken aback.

There weren’t many girls who would take the initiative to confess these days.

An act like that could truly be considered brave.

The girl blinked, then continued thoughtfully, "Mm... although I’ve never really liked anyone, if it was someone I liked, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with being a little proactive. After all, confessing isn’t a patent exclusive to guys."

That was what she truly thought. After all, everyone is new to this whole ’life’ thing. Besides, being proactive with someone you liked was, in itself, a wonderful thing.

Hearing this, Xiao Ran felt a sense of shock.

’So, is Yan Xici planning to just give herself away in the future?’

’That kind of thinking is too dangerous!’

’Thinking back, I probably "gave myself away" back in the day. While that phrase isn’t really used for guys, I was definitely the more proactive one.’

’It would be fine if she met an honest and decent guy.’

’But what if she runs into a scumbag? He wouldn’t just fail to appreciate her affection, he’d think she was easy! Wouldn’t he just immediately take her to a hotel for a ’heart-to-heart’?!’

Just thinking about it made his blood pressure rise.

’A good cabbage could be snatched by a pig at any moment. This is not a good sign!’

He said nervously, "That’s not okay! Let me tell you, you absolutely cannot just give yourself away!"

Xiao Ran looked at her with a determined expression, his eyes like those of a worried father. "That’s absolutely not allowed. I’m telling you, you have to be sure he genuinely likes you before you can say anything, understand?"

Seeing how nervous Xiao Ran was, Yan Xici inexplicably felt like laughing.

’I was just talking. What’s Brother Xiao Ran so nervous about? Besides, when it comes to *him*, I have no plans to confess right now!’

Still, the girl couldn’t help but lean forward, her pretty eyes filled with curiosity. "Then how can I be sure if he likes me or not?"